Crypto Scam Alert: Phishing Attack Swipes $5.1M Worth of BEAM, Token Price Drops

According to the blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, a crypto trader suffered a phishing attack that swooped over 180 million BEAM tokens on Wednesday and affected the token’s price.

In an X (former Twitter) post, Lookonchain exposed a new crypto scam that had occurred on February 15. As the analytics platform detailed, the address 0x83664B8a83b9845Ac7b177DF86d0F5BF3b7739AD, under the name ‘Kirilm.eth’, suffered a phishing attack that led to the theft of millions of BEAM tokens.

kirilm.eth was phishing attacked and lost 180.25M $BEAM($5.14M) 13 hours ago.

The scammer quickly sold the 180.25M $BEAM for 1,629 $ETH($4.6M), which caused the price of $BEAM to drop by ~7%.https://t.co/x8epiNx4Qa pic.twitter.com/ytcfYib2Kg

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 16, 2024

Users seemingly identified the victim as a crypto trader named Kirill Marinov. According to the information provided, the victim lost 180.25 million BEAM tokens, worth approximately $5.14 million, to an account labeled as ‘Fake_Phishing291038.’

Shortly after the theft, the scammer’s address liquidated the total amount of stolen BEAM tokens, exchanging them for 1,629 ETH worth approximately $4.6 million.

According to Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer, the victim signed an ‘increase allowance’ transaction that gave the scammer access to the tokens. Additionally, the. X post detailed that the token spender is a Safe Wallet address.

However, this writing has not revealed further details about the victim, the exact tactics used by the scammer, and their identity.

Phishing scams are among the most popular tactics for crypto-related crimes. Scammers exploit inexperienced investors’ naivety and oversights from more experienced traders to gain access to the funds.

The scamming tactics involve a variety of ways to trick the victims into revealing their private keys or login information to grant access to the victim’s wallets. Due to this, experts urge all crypto investors to stay alert and take the necessary measures to keep their assets safe.

The BEAM token serves as the native crypto asset for the Beam network. After the heist and subsequent exchange to ETH, the token’s price dropped, falling from the $0.030 price level to the $0.028 range.

Beam Network is a gaming network powered by the Merit Circle DAO. The ecosystem brings developers and gamers together to develop the gaming industry further. According to the Beam team, “At its core, Beam aspires to create harmony between gamers and developers.

It’s not just about gaming; it’s about ownership, empowerment, and a global community. Every feature and tool is a step towards this visionary future.”

At writing time, the token trades at $0.027, representing a 2.4% drop in the last hour and a 9.3% decrease from its trading price in the previous 24 hours. According to CoinMarketCap data, the token’s daily trading volume saw a 25.7% decrease in the last 24 hours, sitting at the #104 spot on this metric with $61.4 million.

Despite the negative price reaction following the scam, the BEAM price still registered a 32.9% increase in the last 7 days. Similarly, BEAM’s trust score in the spot markets remains untouched, per CoinGecko Data.